loccent | psl: no such thing as a third wheel

[Most civilians that they meet are freaked out by them and how connected they are. The Becket brothers have been pilots for a couple years together now and their freaky brain connection just gets stronger with time. The people in the Shatterdome are used to it by now, they understand what it's like for pilots. But set the boys out on a public bar and at first, they get girls fawning over them but that dies pretty quickly when Yancy slides a beer in Raleigh's direction before he ever asks for one, and then Raleigh finishes his thought but out loud and they're laughing about something together that happened six years ago.

Except for one girl. Naomi Sokolov. Yancy had reached over and smacked Raleigh in the head out of nowhere and instead of being freaked out, she'd laughed. And when Raleigh starts telling a story but Yancy cuts in and continues it but still somehow not interrupting, all she does is smile at them.

Well no, she does more than that. She makes it pretty clear she's interested in both of them and that's got Yancy looking over at Raleigh with raised eyebrows and a head tilt and they don't actually need a moment to discuss this in private. They just have to look at each other and whole conversations pass between them. And it's something they have to talk about because they've done a lot together but they've never shared a girl before.

So that explains how the first time happened. He can't really explain the subsequent times or how it almost feels like he's in a relationship of some kind with an aspiring writer and his brother. It's not like Yancy has been harboring a secret homoerotic incestuous crush on his brother. It's more like, they're just extensions of the same person at this point and they both like this girl and it just makes sense this way.

Either way, he's not thinking too hard on it and moves to push his face deeper into her pillows (because her bed is the only one big enough for the three of them and it might raise questions to smuggle their lover into the Shatterdome so it's just easier to go to her) because one of them is up and moving and making noise and he's pretty sure that it's his idiot brother.]

[ the thing with naomi almost doesn't happen. and not because a girl being okay with their idiosyncrasies is really fucking rare. no, it's because raleigh takes a moment and has to wonder if he's okay with sharing a girl he's really interested in with his brother. his brother who's always been better than him, has always had an easier time just going for what he wants. he hesitates before saying yes. yancy probably can guess at what's making him pause even though raleigh never says anything, and that's really what cinches it for him.

because raleigh already shares everything with yancy. his head, his heart, his jaeger who might as well be his heart, let's be honest here. sometimes even his name. raleigh lost track of how many times he's just answered something directed at his brother. or how many times someone's yelled to grab yancy's attention and raleigh ended up going, yeah? what is it? there are times, usually right after a drift, where he honestly doesn't know where he ends and yancy begins. it fades with time, but the two of them are so closely connected that just going for it makes an odd kind of sense.

might as well, bro. could be fun. besides, what are the odds of something like this coming up in the drift anyways? don't think about elephants.

raleigh expected a night of fun with a pretty girl. what he got was something he's kind of avoiding putting a label on. it's a lot more than just one night and, if he's completely honest with himself, there are a lot of emotions for naomi involved that he'd rather not examine too closely. he doesn't want to think about what might happen if one of the three of them falls in love with someone else and the other two... don't. not that he's expecting to fall in love with his brother or anything. but it would be so easy for things to get messy.

so raleigh takes time to enjoy the mornings where he wakes up before naomi ( he always wakes up before yancy ) and looks at the two of them. they look good together. ( if it ever looks like they're going to get messy, he'll step aside. because they're good together, even if they're both completely bullheaded. ) and then he goes to make breakfast. if he's up, he might as well, right? sadly, this ends up with a lot of noise because they have yet to make soundproof kitchenware. ]

[ She'd been a sophomore in college and freshly shifted into journalism when she'd met the boys, ( had caught snatches of conversation between classes from girls who were taking college for the ride, who had clothes for drinks and boy-hunting tucked in right alongside their macbooks, and who'd touch up their candy-sweet lipgloss and go Naomi, you should come join us sometime, it'll be fun ) didn't notice one and then the other, because they caught her eye at the same time: tall and blonde with all-American good looks and near-twin devastating smiles and laughter that seemed like a conversation in itself.

She'd been watching them for awhile over the rim of her drink when one of her friends leaned in to murmur a warning. I know they're hot but they're also really weird. It's like they have this freaky mind-meld thing because they can go quiet for a long time and still have a conversation and it's just creepy.

Another friend piped up half-joking wouldn't that be kind of hot if you were the filling in their sandwich to which someone else went Tina, they're brothers that would be awful weird. Threesomes are hot but not when it involves potential incest that's just gross.

All this, even before she found out their names ( Yancy and Raleigh Becket - Yancy's the older one, but Raleigh's cuter with a rockin' bod. )

Her friends go on ahead but Naomi doesn't have an 8 a.m. class so she stays, slides off her chair and walks over to the bar where they were sitting to order a flavored beer.

She'd never dated much before the Beckets, hadn't felt any need to rush into sex, so she'd been a virgin up until they ended up in a rented motel room, her head cradled against Yancy's shoulder while Raleigh teased her with his mouth, left palm pressing Yancy's large hand against her breast, while her right threaded through Raleigh's hair.

She doesn't expect to see them after that, actually avoids going anywhere but school and home to her apartment in the college burbs for about a week only to find herself reaching for a can of spam from a too-high shelf in the grocery when the older of the Beckets hands it to her instead, Raleigh going Careful. Can't have you hurt that pretty little head of yours.

And it just... sort of goes downhill from there.

---

Raleigh banging around in the kitchen is a welcome and familiar noise and when the scent of butter frying wafts through her flat, Naomi smiles and rolls around, her lips finding Yancy's ear, her hand smoothing down his back. ] 'morning.

I'm going to murder him. [Is the first thing that Yancy has to say this morning, without even opening his eyes. Pretty sure turned into positive when the person he was pushed up against rolled over and started going for his ear and there's only one person in his life that does that.

Well two, but what happens in the supply closet with Tendo stays in the supply closet with Tendo.

But joke's aside, he really... enjoys this, the sleepy morning and lips playing at his ear and it's really not like he could ever forget that Raleigh exists but it's one of the rare moments he's not at the front of Yancy's brain.]

[ She laughs softly, head falling back to the pillow so that she can look at him and still sink into the sheets. ]

Don't, please. He's making pancakes. [ Priorities, clearly.

Her hand moves lower, fingers slipping beneath where the hem is slightly bunched up along his waist and she passes a thumb over his skin.

She wonders sometimes, how they managed to come to an arrangement that works, because she loves this ( is somehow still skirting the idea of how to comprehend how she is falling for them both in all the ways that are different and yet equal in measure ) and it's a little unsettling sometimes because it makes her feel greedy. Like she shouldn't be so lucky to have so much. The Becket brothers share her bed and it's not just the sex that takes her breath away. It's how they fit, the pieces somehow all managing to fall into place, how they give her things she never realized she wanted and craved. ]

I wanted waffles anyway.

[Her hand playing with his shirt has him opening one eye and smiling down at her. Kaiju alerts don't wake up him but put a pretty girl in bed with him and he's waking up and moving out of his own volition. Like right now, he's shifting so he can kiss her good morning.]

[ She smiles against his mouth when he leans in. She has no issue with mornings, but they're always better started with a kiss. Especially if the one doing the kissing has a grin like Yancy Becket's. ]

You do realize that the only difference is that one has built-in squares to put syrup in. [ Dammit. Now she wants waffles too. ]

Yeah, so they're better than pancakes. [Come on, Naomi, keep up. Or just keep kissing him, that's fine too.]

[ That gets a laugh out of her right before she shifts closer, mouth fitting over his, the tip of her tongue moving against his bottom lip.

It's easy to fall into him when they're left to themselves, because there's something about Yancy that inspires recklessness. He flirts like he doesn't even think about it, is more often than not forward with what he wants. It's just so natural for kissing to turn into her pressing her body to the solidness of him, one leg coming up to hook on the back of his knee. For her to push at him so that he's flat on his back with her straddling his hips, their mouths still hungry and fused. ]

[He doesn't think about flirting, for the record, it's not his fault that's just what comes out of his mouth and that's how people take it. And if she thinks the waffle vs pancake thing is flirting, then he's been slacking because that's so not.

Yancy's not sure if waffles turn her on or if it's just one of those morning but he's really not complaining when she pushes him onto his back and climbs on top. He pushes back after a moment, moving so they're sitting and she's in his lap, doesn't stop kissing her the entire time. And maybe he won't kill Raleigh after all because look what happens when the kid leaves. See what you miss, kiddo.]

[ so, of course, that's when raleigh has to walk in. complete with bright pink, frilly apron that could never look good under any circumstances. ]

Pancakes are d--ooooo you want me to give you two some privacy?

[ because he can. and will. you know, provided he hasn't ruined the moment yet already. ]

[ Raleigh, don't be silly. Sure, the arrangement the three of them share is unusual by conventional standards, but half the time, the brothers seem like nearly the same person so anything that happens between her and one can only get better if the other is also around.

( It won't make sense to anyone else. Except maybe if they were also jaeger pilots who'd fallen into a similar set-up or people open enough with their needs and wants to make a set-up like this work. )

Naomi's looking over her shoulder at him and she laughs and shakes her head at the apron because it's a thing she owns but never uses. ] Or you could lose the apron and get over here so I can kiss you good morning, too.

[ Her fingers toy with the hair on Yancy's nape, but she leans her head back in an invitation for Raleigh, affection in her eyes. ]

[Yancy actually could've stood for Raleigh to leave. Not that he doesn't love you kid or want to share (except that part of him really doesn't and that's a new feeling for them), it's that Raleigh being there at all made the kissing stop and he didn't want to stop. Seeing Raleigh in that stupid looking apron sort of makes up for it though, and he'll consider forgiving him if he either gets over here or leaves quickly.]

You look like a housewife, by the way.

[ raleigh doesn't need telling twice. he pulls off the apron, pausing only to flip his dear older brother off, then goes to give naomi a very nice good morning kiss. sadly, it doesn't last as long as it could. because-- ]

Pancakes are gonna get cold. Can we finish this after breakfast?

[ his stomach is growling and as much as he lov--likes naomi, he would really like to eat sometime soon. ]

[ she figured, at some point, that it was probably too good to be true.

naomi doesn't know how it starts, only that somehow as her unorthodox relationship with the becket brothers progresses, things start to go wrong. raleigh begins to give her and yancy more space, finds excuses to miss out on movie night, backs out of plans. she can see how much it frustrates yancy, even if she isn't privy to the exchange that happens between the brothers at a copilot level because an exchanged look can sum up several hours' worth of conversation and that just... literally flies over her head.

she just knows that where things used to be perfectly balanced, something tips. one side is too heavy, the other too ready to give and it goes up in flames with heated words and old, buried resentments don't play the goddamned martyr i'm not playing at being a martyr i give you space when you guys need it you're the only one who thinks that you're a third wheel fuck you man like you don't take a mile when given an inch that naomi just... walks out. doesn't come back to her apartment because they both have keys and she can't stand the sight of either of them while they're fighting because... because... because she loves them both. and she'd sooner leave them both than wreck their dynamic in a way that she clearly has.

and sometimes she thinks: what right did she have to be so greedy, to want not just one boy, but two? because as she sits down to finally tell her sister everything, about yeah, she is – was – in a relationship with not one, but two guys, and get this - they're brothers, and not just any set of brothers but gipsy danger's pilots and had pretty much ended up as the filling in their sandwich, she just broke.

because she loves them both. and when all is said and done, that love is equal in every possible measure, because they matter to her in all the ways that are the same and in all the ways that are different and it could have worked.

except it didn't.

---

she's finally walking back up to her apartment after a breather spent in her parents' home. she'd seen the news about san diego and clawhook and her parents still don't know what happened that she didn't have a plus one to take home for the fourth of july and kara just walks over to give her a hug when they aren't looking.

she's trying to dig out her keys from her ridiculous black hole of a bag as she lets her feet walk the rest of her down the familiar hall. ]

[Yancy thinks that the fight really had less to do with Naomi overall and more about his and Raleigh's relationship. Like it was years in the making and things have finally just come to a head and neither of them could ignore it any longer or let the Drift do the talking for them. Honestly, he's a little surprise after it's all said and done, that this stuff hadn't come out earlier, that they've held it all back as long as they could.

Raleigh thinks that Yancy wants everything he does just because he wants it. Yancy thinks that Raleigh couldn't tell what he wants even if he tried because he never acts on anything. And maybe he's tired of carrying you like a child, always holding your fucking hand. Well no one asked you to, Yance, so go fuck yourself.

That's when Yancy huffs out the world's most frustrated sigh and actually reaches out to grab Raleigh by the shoulders and give him hard shake. What's the matter with you, kid? Why are you acting like this, what do you mean you think it's best that you bow out? You're such a moron, I love you both but if it comes down to a straight choice, I'd pick you a thousand times, Rals. Harsh as it might sound, it's true. But it doesn't have to be that way, just because Raleigh's got it in his head that he and Naomi are better off without him, that doesn't make it true.

Maybe it's weird to be in three way relationship with one of the ways being you're brother but the more the days pass, the more time they spend in the Drift, the less he can draw the line between Yancy and Raleigh and it's more like YancyRaleigh and they both love her, so why does this have to be a contest or a competition. If it's too weird for Raleigh, then that's it, it's done but he's not going to leave the kid behind because he's got some stupid idea of nobility into his head.

Now come on, they good? Good, they need to apologize to her because it doesn't matter what they decide, they kind of freaked her out by fighting in front of her. And that needs to made right. Maybe the best way to make it right isn't to wait in her apartment for her to come back but that's... pretty much what they do.]

[ the fight was definitely more about yancy and raleigh than it was naomi. which sounds a little fucked up, but it is what it is. and raleigh supposes it all had to come out eventually. he's seen the frustration in yancy's head enough time to know that at some point things were going to come to a head. it's good that it happens over something really important. something that can drive the point home for raleigh so it's not just--in one ear, out the other, and back to square one.

he kind of hates that it makes naomi walk out, though. it's like he made the one thing he didn't want to happen, happen. by trying to prevent it. and isn't that just horribly ironic. yancy may be the champion of guilt tripping himself when he wants to, but raleigh gives him a run for his money the days the becket boys stay separated from their girl.

waiting for her is a little awkward and a lot nerve wracking. now that she's actually walked out on them once, raleigh's worried that she might do it again. yeah, she didn't demand her keys back but--his foot that's hanging over the arm of the chair he's sitting in twitches wildly. even though he's sure yancy's going to snap at him any second for it. they haven't been here long, but it feels like an eternity and she should be home by now shouldn't she? ]

[ The sight of the boys in her living space is the last thing she expects to see, and by the look of how Yancy's seated, the way Raleigh's got himself stretched out on her couch -- it's almost as if they'd known she was coming back today, which they clearly wouldn't have, because she hadn't told anyone.

She pauses a while at the doorway, the awful feeling in her stomach coming back because she can't help but remember the fight and how small and useless it had made her feel. Yes, she had made the decision to go to spare them both the trouble, but it had also been because it had hurt to feel relegated to just this... entity shared between them. Something that was important enough to trigger a fight and at the same time, not important enough for her to have a say -- which is why she'd let her feet do the talking for her. ]

Oh, [ it seems to flimsy a comment, as if 'oh,' could sum up the tears that had slid down her face when her sister had let her babble about why it was both or none at all. Kara didn't understand, of course, the idea of a three-way relationship compounded further by the fact that neither of the boys were interested in each other like that, that they were brothers -- it was strange. But Kara, having lived in Los Angeles at some point and having held a job in a coffeeshop near the 'dome, had glimpsed the high-profile Gage Twins once and perhaps it was easier to accept that twins could be like that, but it had afforded her sister a reference at least.

Naomi closes the door behind her, saying nothing as she turns back to them. The silence is awful, and she doesn't know the first thing to say to them, so she glances to Raleigh first ( because he'd threatened to go, better off without me, he'd said, and it was like him telling her that he didn't love her even if it was clear enough in his eyes that he did ) and Yancy next ( They're a packaged deal, Kara, maybe if we hadn't gotten involved like this, it could work with just one. But I've slept with them both, and always at the same time -- don't ask me about the logistics, just don't -- it's just... if Raleigh goes, and I don't want him to go, Yancy goes with him. So it's all or nothing and it sucks, I know, maybe it's for the best that it ends even if I don't want it to ) before she retreats to drop her things in the bedroom. ]

[Holy shit, Raleigh, do you ever sit still? No okay, he knows the answer to that and it's cute most of the time but after about an hour, he's about two seconds away from reaching out and grabbing Raleigh's and making it stop.

But Naomi walks in before they devolve into a wrestling match on the floor, which is exactly where that was headed if she hadn't.

Yancy's up on his feet before he really decides to do it, just because he doesn't want her to go, he wants to grab her by the arm and pull her and Raleigh both in for a hug and not let go.]

Naomi, wait. Please. We need to apologize to you.

[ when yancy moves, raleigh moves. that's the way it's always been. the drift and the slow meshing of yancy and raleigh into yancyraleigh has only cemented that over time. but unlike usual, raleigh isn't at his brother's side. he hangs back a little ways as they trail naomi to her bedroom.

if he were a dog ( and he's not a labrador, shut up ) he would have his tail between his legs. because he knows this is his fault. he screwed things up by trying not to screw them up and now he's got to fix it.

so almost before yancy's done saying we need to apologize to you, raleigh's blurting out a rushed string of words. ] I'm kind of madly in love with you and didn't want that to mess things up between the three of us and that was kind of stupid and I'm sorry. [ he scratches at the back of his neck as he stares at his feet. ] That fight was a long time coming and my problems were just what sparked it. It's not that I don't want this thing with us anymore it's just... [ he trails off and shrugs. it's just that it's easier to try and let someone be happy and break his own heart than to watch someone else break it for him. and that sounds kind of pathetic when he actually stops to think about what he was doing. ]

[ she forgets, sometimes, that raleigh's just a year older than her, because the way the brothers move sometimes, it's as if they might as well be two sides of the same person. there are a handful of times that she's reminded though, and it's usually when yancy falls asleep on the couch leaving the both of them awake and she crawls over to cuddle up next to him.

she only slows when yancy calls her name because she knows that he'll come after her if she heads straight to the room ( it's how he is with a lot of things, especially when he's dead set on wanting them, tracks down every possibly way to make it happen like a bloodhound ) but it's when raleigh blurts out feelings that naomi just... stops.

because he's breaking her heart by being so afraid for his.

she sets her bag down at that, glancing over to yancy and reaching out to touch his hand as if to say we'll talk. all of us, even as she moves towards his brother. raleigh's still has his eyes trained on the floor and when naomi finally steps close, she tilts his chin up, hesitating only briefly before she fits her mouth over his.

in the past, when they'd kiss, it was always the sweet to counterpoint yancy's intensity. with raleigh, affection is easy, kisses are often traded smiles pressed together with the hint of laughter in-between. because keeping them separate with different ways of being makes it easier to keep lines from being blurred, and, if she admits it: keeps things a little less terrifying because they're so different from other men, so at home with each other that it's like they don't need anyone else and like the fight, that scares her -- because if they're alright on their own how the hell does she fit?

so naomi changes the tempo of the kiss, kisses him the way he might know as the way she kisses his brother when they're all tangled up in the sheets; body flush up against his and fingers curled at the back of his head.

and then she hugs him, tight and hard, the kiss broken now as she hides her face in his shoulder, the words she says next loud enough for yancy to hear. ] If things get messed up, I'll go. Because the only way I can stay is if it's with you both. [ and then softer, but audible still: ] I love you both so much, Raleigh. Both of you, okay?

[ right between them is where she fits. she's the cream filling to their oreo cookies and that's a terribly analogy but it works, okay? and raleigh's never going to be able to eat oreos ever again without thinking of naomi and how stupid he was to push her away. how good it feels to have her back.

it's a little strange, how the way she kisses him can be both familiar and new thanks to the drift. but it's right because raleigh's pretty sure he can't manage anything soft and sweet right about now. not with the way he's feeling just a little desperate and a hell of a lot apologetic. though that's quickly fading as he realizes that their little bump in the road wasn't the end of the line. still, it's hard not to cling to her as she kisses him. and when she pulls away, he still holds on tight to her, hiding his face in her hair. ]

Okay. [ he doesn't really like the thought of her leaving ever, but it's still reassuring to hear that he doesn't need to be the one to step back. ] Okay.

[ raleigh really doesn't want to let go of naomi right now, but there's a person missing here. he tilts his head so he can look up at yancy. get your butt over here, bro. this needs to be a group hug. ]

[Yancy delivers a slap to the back of Raleigh's head when he steps up, just a loving reminder that you're a total idiot sometimes, Rals, and well, Naomi said everything that he could've wanted to say anyway. Probably said it better because yeah, sorry bro he's not frenching you like that ever.

Not that he thinks Raleigh wants him too, knows he doesn't for fact, but just putting it out there.

He slides his hand along Raleigh's shoulder though as he puts an arm around the both of them.]

We're good, right? [He's more asking Naomi, than Rraleigh since he knows what the kid is feeling. About time you got it, kiddo, shit.]

[ There's a tiny sound of assent from Naomi, because she's pretty reluctant to let Raleigh go. A part of her's thinking about how lucky it was that Raleigh's actually the type to talk about stuff like this, even if it takes him forever to actually start.

Feeling Yancy warm beside them, she relaxes a little, but doesn't let go. She's pretty much gone on them now, probably more than before and it shakes her -- because the go out and fight kaiju and she knows that it's no small feat since those things are big.

When she finally looks up, she presses a soft kiss at the corner or Raleigh's mouth, pausing to give him a smile as her thumb tweaks his ear. She doesn't let go completely, but she does free one arm to wrap around Yancy's middle, and goes up on tiptoe to offer brush her lips against his chin. ]

( there are all kinds of love in this world,
but never the same love twice. )

psl: no such thing as a third wheel

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